ABSTRACT
In 1971 I was the senior surgeon on the liner Orcades. It was 'coming home from Australia' time. Perth is a pretty city, but its port, Fremantle, is not. So there was little regret on our departure as we set off across the wide expanse of the Indian Ocean, our next landfall, Durban, being five full sailing days away, with no land in sight at all until then. It was the longest single stretch Orcades ever sailed. However, this was puny compared with the route currently being taken by the ship that we were soon to meet.
